


Dripping in Chocolate Review

by starlitdays



Series: Louise Lombard [3]
Category: Dripping in Chocolate (2012)
Genre: Reviews, Screenshots, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:48:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlitdays/pseuds/starlitdays
Summary: Chapter One: Liveblog Review (with screencaps)Chapter Two: Extended Review (with screencaps)Chapter Three: Summary Review





	1. Liveblog

**Author's Note:**

> TL;DR: 8/10, with the usual 1 point for my massive crush on Louise Lombard for a baseline of 7/10.
> 
> Some swearing.
> 
> All screencaps featured were taken by me. Feel free to use them, but please let me know and give me credit. (With the exception of the first picture in the extended review, which is from Louise Lombard’s twitter.)
> 
> Cast:
> 
> David Wenham as Detective Bennett O'Mara  
> Louise Lombard as Juliana Lovece  
> Rick Donald as Carl Dukes  
> Chelsie Preston Crayford as Rebecca Riley  
> Richard Brancatisano as Saxon Blake  
> Lucy Durack as Bunny  
> Glenn Hazeldine as Aaron Tovey

This opening looks like a noir movie

Continuing my eternal appreciation of hands in general and Louise’s hands in particular... her nails look so nice OMG!

I wonder how much Louise had to learn about the process of chocolate making for this movie. Like not necessarily the whys but the hows (in order to look natural doing it on screen) (edit after the fact: according to her twitter, she had a few lessons)

Bad strangulation scene is bad. That’s not effective strangulation. (see my reviews of Dangerous Lessons for in-depth ranting about strangulation scenes)

I’m really digging this more feminine look Louise has going so far in this movie, with the flowery A-line dress. Much more girly than anything else I’ve seen her in so far

I don’t think it’s sanitary to have sex in a chocolate shop…

Okay while I very much like the visual of one woman running her hand down the ass of another woman, when one of the women is dead and the other is checking if she’s wearing underwear, it’s just creepy, plz don’t

“You here by yourself?” / “Yes.” / “I read in a magazine art galleries are the best places to meet people when you’re over a certain age.” Did he just imply that she’s too old to pick up guys in a bar, or that he’s too old to pick up girls in a bar? I’m gonna go with the latter so I don’t get mad.

HAH! “And if you don’t hit it off, easy to move on to the next prospect.” / “Exactly. Excuse me.”

This dude playing the security guard is actually visibly holding her arm tightly, and in one shot she has a finger-sized bruise on her arm, and I’m wondering if dude actually did hurt her *narrows eyes*

Woman, you have a boyfriend, stop flirting with the cop

Also I really hope they explain at some point why only this one person has a British accent while everyone else is Aussie (edit after watching the whole movie: they don’t. The closest they come is mentioning that she and her ex-husband “moved here” but they don’t say from where)

“So if he was attractive, you would let him handcuff you?” brb I need to be alone with those mental images :D

Ohgoddamn (the boyfriend just pinned her hands behind her back and said “Miss Lovece, we can do this the easy way or the hard way” and she freaking _purrs_ “definitely the hard way” and daaaaaamn)

Scene of O’Mara, who’s on a detox, watching fast food commercials and being disgusted with his bland soup is priceless

This entire montage of Juliana making chocolate in her kitchen in the middle of the night is so… just, casually sexy. I love it

I have an uncomfortable suspicion that the sweet, adorable wife of the politician is the murderer and that would make me sad

I think Riley likes O’Mara. Juliana showed up to talk to him, and now she’s lurking around, watching

So O’Mara is getting “totally legit, it’s herbal” stuff from a dude that looks like he’s on steroids, and someone is taking pictures

The politician is dead. The wife is definitely the murderer (which is better than being a victim, but still)

This Tovey cop dude is a fucking SLEAZE

The wife is now yelling “what have you done” to Juliana in front of the cops, she’s definitely the killer. Like, woman told Juliana to come to the house and when to do so (also I stopped liking her when she framed Juliana, so she no longer has my sympathies)

Okay so the wife killed her husband, but not the first victim (semi-sympathies)

IDK if they’re actually implying that Juliana’s boyfriend is having an affair with her employee, or just that Juliana is seeing things because the case involves a married man having an affair (and Juliana herself had been in that position before) but I really like the boyfriend and the employee, so I hope it’s just her seeing things

Wow dude, you are getting your fingerprints ALL OVER the evidence

Oh my god plz tell me O’Mara isn’t taking Juliana (a suspect/expert on his murder case) to his ex-wife’s birthday just because she happens to be in the car with him and he’s late

Jesus fucking… okay, I didn’t see the “birthday” being at a cemetary, so apparently his “ex” wife is actually his dead wife and that doesn’t make this any less awkward

Oh man, O’Mara does NOT know how to person, damn LOL

JESUS FUCKER JULIANA’S BOYFRIEND WAS SLEEPING WITH THE VICTIM

I did NOT see that coming. And right after Juliana told O’Mara about catching her (now ex) husband cheating, man

Still don’t know who the murderer is, but man are the bodies piling up

Also Juliana is totally about to be attacked in her beach house, like woman cannot catch a fucking break

Oh shit is it the boyfriend after all? Is he gonna attack Juliana?

Boyfriend is developing a case of crazy eyes

Their shirts are the same color, bad call, wardrobe department

JESUS Riley, don’t just fucking APPEAR like that, damn

HOLY GODDAMN SHIT IT’S RILEY WHO’S THE KILLER

Boyfriend being casually useless in the shower while Riley force-feeds Juliana strychnine-laced chocolate

Nooo! Boyfriend just got stabbed in the heart! (okay yeah, he cheated, but Juliana was giving him another chance cuz I guess he didn’t technically cheat since Juliana insisted it was just “fun” and “casual” so…)

So this is the second movie that involves Louise staggering around and groaning cuz her character was drugged. Is it bad that I’m enjoying this?

Oh I am SUCH shipper trash *sigh*


	2. Extended Review

So I’m trying really hard to not comment on Louise’s hair every time she’s a brunette in something… but it kind of really doesn’t work in this movie. Not that she doesn’t look gorgeous, but some combination of the dark hair, red tones (of the hair), pale skin (seriously where’d her tan go?), and blue tones (of the movie -- that’s probably where her tan went) make her look really washed out in some scenes. Which is sad, because it’s a gorgeous color and looks amazing on her outside of the movie (from what I can see in that one picture she posted).

Word to anyway who watches this movie: buy a high-quality chocolate bar before starting. Seriously. Every time I watch it I want chocolate and I only have dollar store shit and it so doesn’t take care of the craving. (Also this movie makes me think of my grandma, ‘cuz she used to have a chocolate shop.)

Bad strangling scene is still bad. Made either more or less bad (depending on your POV) once you realize that it lasted from the time Juliana coated the chocolate molds through filling them with whatever center they had to adding the rest of the chocolate and into shaking/tapping the tray to get rid of air bubbles. That’s a long-ass time. (The dead lady is flinching in the rain...)

And having sex in a chocolate shop is still unsanitary. Also potentially illegal, given the BIG-ASS WINDOW they’re standing in front of.

Tovey is literally disgusting. Making sexual comments about a dead woman and then getting snarky when he’s called on his shit. So gross.

Carl thinking he’d ever have a chance with Riley. Dude, if she laughs and walks away when you talk about going on a date with her, it’s not a moment where you triumphantly exclaim “Gotcha!” under your breath.

And Riley running her hand over the victim’s ass is EXTRA FUCKING CREEPY when you’ve seen the movie before and know that 1) she’s the victim’s cousin, and 2) she’s the killer. (Still uncomfortably appreciating the visual, tho…)

I finally realized who the victim’s agoraphobic neighbor reminds me of! I could’ve sworn I’d seen him in something before, but IMDb was no help. Turns out he totally looks like Raul Esparza (specifically in Pushing Daisies, as that’s the only thing I’ve seen him in).

Oh this poor bastard is trying so hard to pick up Juliana (can’t blame him) and so not getting anywhere (can’t blame her).

Why would you bring chocolate to a fancy-ass party at an art gallery? Does Juliana just go everywhere with chocolate in her purse? Just in case she runs across some random woman crying in the bathroom because her husband is having an affair?

There’s a lot of finger-sucking in this movie. I approve :D

“Guy asks if you’re married and you don’t answer him… Might as well say you’re up for it.”  
“He’s not that attractive.”  
“So if he was attractive, you would let him handcuff you?”  
“Shut up.”  
^^ Very possibly my favorite exchange in this whole movie LOL (Of course the fact that it’s followed by him pinning her hands behind her back and off-screen sex happening helps ;) )

(Also he may be “not that attractive” but he’s Sean Bean’s cuter younger brother in Lord of the Rings, so it’s not like he’s **un** attractive, either)

I feel like it’s probably also not a good idea to make chocolate with your hair down. Like she’s got a lot of hair, and it’s very long, and seriously, at least put it in a ponytail. Nobody wants to bite into a chocolate and choke on somebody’s hair.

Did he just call that a croissant? Please tell me he didn’t call that a croissant. That looks like a ciabatta, but either way it is 100% not a croissant.

Goof: when Juliana was making the chili and cinnamon chocolates in her kitchen, she made them with white chocolate. When Bunny tries one the next day, it’s dark chocolate.

AAAUUUUGH BUNNY JUST COUGHED RIGHT ONTO THE TRAY OF UNCOVERED CHOCOLATES I REALLY WISH I HADN’T NOTICED THAT

I really like the politician’s wife, but I really hate how she went to Juliana fully intending to frame her for the politician’s murder. That’s cold.

Woman are you trying to bribe a cop for dirt on a politician with _raw chicken wings for his dog_??? That is… that’s something. I’m not sure what that is, but it’s something.

No matter how innocent something is, if it looks like a drug deal, don’t fucking do it in public. Jesus. *mutters about idiot cops*

Carl looks hilariously nauseated by O’Mara giving Roman (the dog) a shot. Not that I can blame him, I would be, too, but it’s a hilarious face he makes.

Tovey continues to be fucking disgusting. He’s wayyyy too interested in the idea of the victim propositioning Juliana. “She ever proposition you? [...] Y’know. Hit on you for some girl-on-girl action *smarmy grin*” … I need a shower.

The politician’s wife screaming “what have you done to my husband” at Juliana when she was the one who killed him is just… blah. So not okay. And doing it in front of all the cops? Like damn. I know she’s actively trying to frame Juliana so the cops don’t realize she killed him, but still. That’s cold.

The way that Juliana just like, crumples into tears when Saxon opens the door hurts my heart. Like this is a woman who has no experience with death, finds a dead body, is accused of being the killer, has to hold it together for hours, and then finally gets home, gets to safety, and just lets go. Ugh too many feels.

The music when O’Mara pours water on the ground is hilarious. It’s like, music you’d expect from some intense revelation or something, and I’m sitting here like “yes, water will flow down an incline, that is a thing”

Also pretty sure that O’Mara should have taken pictures of the storm drain and the inside of it and worn gloves before pulling the victim’s phone out. Like that’s evidence in a murder, any good defense attorney would get the phone evidence thrown out of court for not being collected properly.

“You’re a dickhead, Tovey.” Truer words, man. Truer. Words.

Riley is super cute but I wish she wasn’t so thirsty for O’Mara. Or the killer.

“You always say, wherever there’s smoke, they’re probably in it up to their necks.”  
“Mm. I wouldn’t mix my metaphors like that.”

This collection of floral sundresses paired with knee-high boots that Juliana seems to live in is really doing it for me. (Gods bless the costume department for this movie)

Juliana, maybe semi-accusing a customer of something involving a double murder isn’t the best way to run your business. He probably would’ve stopped being a customer if he wasn’t gonna be murdered in a few scenes.

Weirdly ominous scene for no goddamn reason.

First scene where it’s actually super obvious that O’Mara and Juliana are into each other, and Juliana’s boyfriend is right there. Mildly awkward. Not that he seems to care, and I don’t really, either, since he gets killed later on, so it’s not like he’s gonna pose a challenge (wow I’m a terrible person…)

O’Mara continuing to mishandle evidence. Honestly, he’s kind of a terrible homicide detective.

“You’re just one big soft center, aren’t you?” Yes, O’Mara, and she’s gonna turn that soft center on you after the movie is done. …… Wooooow that sounded way the fuck more sexual than was intended. (For the record, it wasn’t intended to be sexual at all, but feelsy)

O’Mara really, really doesn’t know how to person. A woman tells you the story of how she caught her husband cheating, you don’t start talking about how she obviously knew on some level and wanted to find out “why your sex life had dropped off” like damn LOL At least he clues in a bit when she gets an utterly devastated expression. And apologizes, so I guess that’s something.

Riley: *stabs Saxon in the heart* “That’s what you get for cheating.” I mean… she’s not wrong…

Maybe Juliana should let O’Mara know that she was poisoned with strychnine… Like maybe a hospital trip is in order… (I know it totally happened off-screen, but some manner of on-screen mention would’ve been nice)

Awww, Bunny and Juliana’s friendship is adorable.

And again, I am such shipper trash. Juliana and O’Mara aren’t even flirting particularly overtly and I’m sitting here swooning.


	3. Summary Review

Considering this is a TV movie, it is absolutely awesome. The acting was great, no over-acting even by supporting cast (despite what other reviews I’ve read have said). Everything felt very real (aside from a few small goofs). I read one review that said that Louise Lombard smiled too much in the movie (which is the weirdest complaint I’ve ever seen) but having watched it a few times now, it’s never stood out to me. There never seems to be inappropriate or over-the-top reactions from  **anyone** on the cast.

I would definitely advise having some good quality chocolate on hand if you’re going to watch this movie, lest you end up with cravings you can’t indulge. (Trust me, you’re gonna want some chocolate when you watch this, and the cheap crap isn’t gonna cut it.)

This has twists and turns I wasn’t expecting when I watched it the first time, to the point where I actually yelled when the final twist was revealed. It keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing as characters drop like flies, and I found that very satisfying.

All in all, an extremely enjoyable movie that I will definitely be recommending to friends.

(Also seriously Grade A Exceptional Quality handporn. Good lord.)


End file.
